Taslima Nasreen gets 1-year Indian residence permit, credits Twitter

Twitter did it. Bangladeshi-origin writer Taslima Nasreen, who took to Twitter to question why she had only been given a three-month visa extension by India, has got a year-long residence permit.

Nasreen received a call on Saturday morning telling her that her request for a year-long visa has been been granted. "It is the power of Twitter," she said, clearly relieved at the extension. "I know no influential person. I am an ordinary citizen. For ordinary people like me, the way to reach out was Twitter,” she declared.

Despite living in exile in India for many years, her yearly extension for visas has never been easy. "It is a fight," she says. Thrown out of West Bengal by the erstwhile CPI(M) government, Nasreen didn't find much sympathy with the UPA government, too. "I was told that when BJP comes, I will get permanent residence,” Nasreen said.

However, when the BJP first came to power, she was given an extension of only two months. "I met the then home minister Rajnath Singh to ask why. I had been granted a year-long extension before. He told me it was a clerical error," said Nasreen.

This time around, despite being told that there was a change in policy that allows for a longer stay, Nasreen was only handed a three-month visa extension.

"I applied for a residence permit a month ago. There was no response from the government," said Nasreen explaining how she had taken to Twitter to get a response. The next day she was told that she was given a three-month extension of her visa. She took to Twitter again, tagging Home Minister Amit Shah to understand why she had only been given a three-month extension.

It's been a long battle for a home for Nasreen. While she holds Swedish citizenship, she has chosen to live in India. “When I say I am in India, I never say that I am in a foreign country. It is because of love,” she says.